Hair curler and key



Sept. 15,'1953 R. SEYFFARTH .HAIR CURLER AND KEY Filed June 14. 1950 Arrow/r llv/ Patented Sept. 15, 1953 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE HAIR CURLER AND KEY Richard Seyffarth, Long Island City, N. Y.

Application June 14, 1950, vSerial No. 167,953

3 Claims. l

This invention relates to a device for curling hair, either in conjunction with the home-type permanent waving liquids, or on a professional The usually manually-operated hair curlers require a high degree of skill and dexterity on the part of the operator, and are difficult for the ordinary untrained individual tomanipulate.

In utilizing the conventional type of hair curler, the curls are generally formed loosely and irregularly with the result that after they are set, the curls lack uniformity, thus affecting the general appearance of the hair.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a hair curler, and a key for manipulating it, which are simple, inexpensive, and do not require special skills, or training, on the part of the operator.

A further object is to provide a hair curler, which will tightly and uniformly form the curls, without special skill, or effort, on the part of the operator.

Another object is to provide a hair curling unit, which can be produced, accurately and uniformly, at low cost, so that the curlers can be replaced after each application, or series of applications, without excessive cost.

A primary object is to provide a hair curler and a key for manipulating it, by means of which the hair can be tightly curled, provision being made for maintaining the curler and the hair retained in it, in the formed condition, over a sustained period, easily and uniformly.

The accompanying drawing, illustrative of one embodiment of my invention and several modifications thereof, together with the description of their construction and the method of utilizaltion thereof, will serve to clarify further objects and advantages of my invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the curler Wrapper, attached to a rod, and mounted in a key, vand a vertical section through the key.

Fig. 2 a cross-section through the shank of the curler and the flexible curler tube fitted to it taken at 2 2, Fig. 1, with the curler Wrapper rolled around the shank of the key in the manner shown in Fig. '7.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the key, shown in Fig. 1.

Fig, 4 is a cross-section through the shank of the key of Fig. 3, taken at 4 4, of Fig. 3.l

Fig. 5 is a cross-section through the curler assembly of Fig. 1, taken at 5 5, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section through the curler, similar to Fig. 5 with the aps partially opened, to receive the strands of hair.

Fig. 7 is an isometric view of the curler, after Wrapping around the hair, with the ends of the flexible rod bent over.

It will be understood that the following description of the construction and operation `of the hair curler and key, is intended as explanatory of the invention and not restrictive thereof.

In the drawings, the same reference numerals designate the same parts throughout the various vlews.

One embodiment of the hair curler, shown in Figs. l, 2, and 5, comprises a long, flexible rod or tube l0, of circular, or other suitable crosssection, made of a plastic, or other suitable material, reinforced by a wire Il, imbedded in the center of the plastic tube, with a wrapper I2, formed of thin paper, a thin sheet plastic Inaterial, or other suitable moisture-absorbent material, attached to the outer circumference of th rod.

The wrapper may be folded along a line, near the center of the strip, to form two webs I4 and l5, as indicated in Figs. l and 5, the outer edge I6, of one of the Webs, projecting beyond the edge of the opposite web.

The wrapper may be attached to the exible rod by gluing, heat sealing, `or other suitable attaching means, or the rod may merely be fitted into the gap, formed between the two Webs, and manually held in place, no actual attachment being necessary.

A key il, comprising a substantially tubular shank I8, attached to, or formed integral with a substantially ,cylindrical handle I9, made of aluminum, a plastic material, or other suitable material, the outer circumference of the handle being knurled, or otherwise indented, to provide a gripping surface, may be utilized to wrap the curler around selected strands of hair. lThe flexible rod I0 may be fitted through a substantially circular opening 20, formed in the center of the key, the opening extending through the shank, and a portion of the handle, the diameter of the opening being larger than the rod diameter, to facilitate insertion of the rod. A counterbore 2l, of larger diameter, may be formed in the center of the handle, from the end of the handle inward, connecting with the opening 20.

A slot 22, may be cut through the cuter wall of the shank of the key from the end thereof, to the junction line with the handle, the forward edges 23, of the slot, being rounded, to facilitate entrance of the two webs I4 and l5 of the curler, into the slot. The width of the slot 22 would be greater than the thickness of the two wrapper webs, to facilitate fitting the curler into the key.

In attaching the wrapper to the outer diameter of the rod of the curler, or in applying the junction between the two webs of the wrapper to the outer diameter of the rod, without attachment, the lower formed edges of the webs, adjacent the junction radius 24, of each of the wrapper webs, would be held close together to avoid a gap, through which strands of hair might slip.

The diameter of the opening 20, in the shank of the key, would be greater than the diameter of the rod l0, for ease of insertion, particularly where the rod is bent, or otherwise distorted at the ends 25 and 25a, projecting beyond the edges of the webs.

In fitting the curler to the key, the two webs are closed about the rod, to approximately the position, shown in Fig. 5, one end 25, of the rod, being inserted into the opening 20, in the shank of the key, and the webs slid along into the slot 22, in the Wall of the shank, until the curler assumes approximately the position, shown in Fig. 1, with one end of the web, abutting, or slightly clearing the edge of the handle.

The webs may then be opened slightly to the V-position shown in Fig. 6, by grasping the projecting edge I6, of one of the webs, and the strands of hair 26, to form one curl, inserted in the bottom of the V-between the two webs.

After the hair is inserted, the key may be rotated by grasping the handle, the webs, with the hair gripped between them, being fairly tightly wrapped around the shank of the key, as indicated in Fig. 2.

When the wrapping is completed, the key may be withdrawn from the central curler rod, leaving the wrapped curler, as indicated in Fig. 7,

after which the two ends 25 and 25a, of the rod,

means of glue, or other suitable adhesive, the

webs being glued around a portion of the upper circumference of the rod, to form as small a gap as practicable, between the lower end of the webs, when the webs are opened.

The wrapper webs may be made of any convenient size, and material texture, to suit the requirements of the curling operation, the texture of the material depending, to some extent, upon the type of liquid used for setting the hair, after it is curled.

The central rod may be made of a iiexible plastic material, reinforced by a small diameter,

-iiexible metal wire, or it may be made of a solidk -plastic material, or a plastic tube, with a small opening formed in the center thereof to facilitate bending, provided the material has enough inherent strength to maintain its position and support the ends of the Webs, after the webs are rolled and the ends' of the rod bent to the position, shown in Fig. 7.

In place of a plastic rod, reinforced with a metal wire, the rod may be made of soft metal -.wire, or a metal tube, having a small opening formed therein, the material being sufciently soft to permit bending the ends, and remain in the bent position, as indicated in the drawings, Fig. 7.

The key may be made of an aluminum rod, or other metal rod, or of a rod made of a plastic material, the slot in the shank being cut through the wall thereof, or molded, depending upon the material used and the method of manufacture.

The handlerof the key may be cylindrical or of polygonal cross-section to provide a suitable gripping surface. The outer diameter of the handle may be knurled, recessed, or depressions of any suitable form and contour may be formed therein, to provide an adequate gripping surface.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that my present invention is not limited to the specific details described above and shown in the drawings, and that various further modifications are possible in carrying out lthe features of the invention without departing from the spirit and l lscope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: l. A hair-curling apparatus, comprising a flexible rod, a thin strip of paper, folded to form a pair of webs, attached to said rod at the junction between the webs, the ends of the rod projecting beyond the ends of the webs, said webs being angularly separated to receive strands of hair between them, and a key comprising a substantially tubular shank, a handle formed integral with the shank, the shank having a circular opening formed therethrough to receive the flexible rod, the shank having a slot cut therethrough to receive the webs, said shank slidably supporting a portion of the webs, said key being manually rotated to snugly wrap the webs around the shank of the key, the ends of the rod being bent over the end of the webs to retain the webs and hair in the curled position, after the curler is removed from the key.

2. A hair-curling apparatus, comprising a ilexible rod, a thin strip of moisture-absorbent material, folded to form a pair of Webs, tted to said rod, the ends of the rod projecting beyondthe ends of the webs, the outer end of said webs being opened to receive strands of hair between the webs, a key comprising a substantially cylindrical shank, and a handle formed integral with the shank, said shank having an opening formed therethrough, extending into the handle, with a slot cut through the wall of the shank, in communication with the opening, .the opening receiving the rod, the webs being slidably fitted through the slot, said key being manually rotated to snugly wrap the Webs around the shank of the keypthe ends of the rod being bent over the end of the webs, to retain the webs and the hair in the rolled position after the curler is removed from the key.

3. A hair curler comprising a iiexible rod, made of a plastic material, with a reinforcing wire imbedded in said rod, a thin strip of moisture-absorbent material, folded to form a pair of webs, attached to the rod at the junction between the webs, said webs being angularly separated to receive strands of hair between them, the ends of said rod extending beyond the ends of the webs, a key comprising a substantially cylindrical shank, and a handle formed integral with the shank, said shank having an opening formed therethrough, extending into the handle, with a slot cut through the wall of the shank, in communication with the opening, the opening receiving the rod, the webs being slidably fitted through the slot, said key being manually rotated, to Wrap the webs and the hair around the shank of the key, the projecting ends of the rod ybeing bent over the end of the webs, to retain the webs and the hair in the rolled position, after the curler is removed from the key.

RICHARD SEYFFARTH.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 909,079 Goldner Jan. 5, 1909 1,612,911 Durnerin Jan. 4, 1927 2,163,375 De La Garza June 20, 19439 2,308,167 Fulton Jan. 12, 1943 

